COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri basketball scraped by Southeast Missouri State 89-84 in the Tigers' home opener, giving fans a slight scare in the process. 

The high-scoring affair was primarily powered by senior forward Mark Mitchell on Missouri's side, as he put up 29 points on 12-for-14 shooting, the second-highest point total of his time with the Tigers. Mitchell's done this before, such as his 31-point outburst against Alabama last season, but had yet to eclipse double-digits this season. 

It was time he reintroduced himself. 

"I knew I was going to be aggressive all day today," Mitchell said, exchanging smiles with head coach Dennis Gates. "I know that their defensive coverage, they like to stay home and things like that. Obviously, when I can get a one-on-one and play in space and things like that – and my teammates allow me to do that – I know I'm really good." 

Mitchell's go-to method of scoring is his aforementioned one-on-one game. There's not many players like Mitchell, who stand at 6-foot-9, 230 pounds and can put the ball on the floor – at least not on Missouri. Whether it's bullying smaller defenders or blowing by bigger defenders, Mitchell has an arsenal of physical tools to use to create matchup advantages. He's the focal point of the Tigers' offense, as a primary ball-handler and high-usage offensive player. 

Time and time again Friday night, Mitchell was the only one who could consistently get squared-shoulder, quality looks at the basket, leading to his hyper-efficient scoring output. While he may be the best big driver on the team, he couldn't score at the same rate he did without effective floor-spacing from his teammates. 

Mitchell is now playing alongside a 3-point shooting big for the first time in his career with the Tigers, and it's paying dividends instantly. 

"It's great having someone that can space the floor with size," Mitchell said of his new teammate, Luke Northweather. "You can try to kind of draw bigs away from the paint. Or if they don't want to have the big guard (Northweather), they might be guarding me, and I probably have a matchup advantage. So it's always going to be good."

But he wasn't the only one benefitting from his paint presence. Mitchell's knack for driving forces defenses to collapse on him and bring help to the paint, freeing his teammates for open looks on the perimeter. 

Northweather, who stands at 6-foot-11, shot 36% from 3-point range at Oklahoma in 2024-2025, and now brings that shooting to Missouri. With the Tigers, Northweather is getting consistent open looks playing alongside Mitchell, as the pair's differentiating playstyles complement each other perfectly. 

"Mark's a special player," Northweather said. "I take pride in my shot, my ability to space the floor. So if I need to sit in the corner and let Mark do his thing and be ready for a kick out, I'm happy to do it." 

Much of Missouri's roster is constructed to fit around Mitchell's offensive game, and it seems to be working. The Tigers have scored at least 88 points in each of their first three games counting the exhibition game against Kansas.

Mitchell was once again the scoring force all night, scoring 19 of his 29 points in the second half while shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from the field en route to Missouri's 89 point outpour. He truly was unstoppable. 

"Being aggressive, being a leader on the team," Mitchell said. "Especially down the stretch, just kept attacking. I knew they couldn't stop me." 

However, an area he did struggle from was the charity stripe. It should be noted it's while he struggled, it wasn't due to any SEMO defender stopping him, but rather Mitchell stopping himself.

He began the game 0-for-6 from the line, despite shooting a respectable 78.2% in conference play in 2024-2025. 

As crunch time approached, Mitchell was sent to the line on two separate occasions for three total shots. First, he converted an and-one free-throw with 3:10 remaining to extend the Tigers' lead to 79-76. Then, he was sent to the line for a pair of free-throws with 0:47 seconds left and the score close at 83-78.

Mitchell sank both, extending the lead to seven points. 

"Mark Mitchell was able to go 4-for-4 in his last four free-throws," Gates said. "That's what won the game."

Mitchell has won Missouri games before, and will be relied upon to do so going forward, which he's clearly prepared to do.